for their dense fur has been the main conservation risk for many otter species, but the European otter faces another threat. The increasing intensification of farming across Europe in the 20th century provoked many hunters to illegall

The European Otter, Lutra lutra, is a European member of the Mustelidae or weasel family, and is typical of freshwater otters. It may also be known as the Eurasian river otter, common otter, or Old World otter. For the rest of this article 'otter' will refer specifically to the European otter, although the information may be applicable to other otter species.

The European otter is the most widely distributed otter species, the name being something of a misnomer, as the species' range includes parts of Asia and Africa, as well as being spread across Europe. The otter is believed to be extinct in Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Otters are now very common along the coast of Norway and in Northern Britain, especially Shetland where 12% of the UK breeding population exist[citation needed].

An otter's diet mainly consists of fish but can also include birds, insects, frogs, crustaceans and sometimes small mammals. In general this opportunism means they may inhabit any unpolluted body of freshwater, including lakes, streams, rivers, and ponds, as long as there is good supply of food. Otters may also live along the coast, in salt water, but require regular access to freshwater to clean their fur.

Otters are strongly territorial, living alone for the most part, with individual's home ranges varying between 1-40 km, with about 18 km being usual, depending on the density of food available. Males and females will breed at any time of the year when mating takes place in water. After a gestation period of about 63 days 1-4 pups are born, which remain dependent on the mother for a year. The male plays no role in parental care, because a few days before the young otters are born, the female otter begins to bite her partner until the male otter leaves. Otherwise the male otter would probably eat his young generation, because he is not able to tell the difference between rats and new born otters.

This photo I took in the Rotterdam Zoo with my husband Jaap {Carper} I hope you like it . Merry Cristmas and Happy new Year to you all.

Hello Teunie,
This is an awesome portrait of this otter.
You catched this scene so well, I like a lot the POV used and the sharp details on the fur got.
Good composed, and I like a lot the frame used.
Congratulations and Merry Christmas to you too!
JM

Hi Teunie.
Perfect pose, captured moment and very expressive POV. Great DOF, sharpness and details of this Furious animal. I like the composition and framing of your shot so much. Excellent job and my compliments.
Alexei.

Superb capture of this beautiful Otter, very nice composition and POV and I love the open mouth pose, looks like he is ready for a Fish, very nice details with great fur and a smashing set of Whiskers, Great work.

Wow, another great shot for your ever improving portfolio. This is brilliant 'in-your-face' stuff. Ha-ha-ha, looks like this guy did not like Jaap's hat, or shirt, or shoes, or whatever (chuckle) since it doesn’t seem to be saying, “Howdy neighbour, nice to see you again”. Quite the contrary, it rather gives the impression that it said something like; “Don’t you rather want to go and visit the Two-toed Sloth next-door.

Sorry for using the ‘wow’ word again, but these facial details and all those whiskers are absolutely sharp and spot-on. The close crop works very well with this composition. The colours are great, the BG is complimentary, and the exposure was on the button.

Hello Teunie,
At first thanks for your grettings and I wish you a Healthy and Happy New Year !
Nice portrait for this funny otter. I like its expression ;-) DOF and sharpness are excellent. Perhaps few noise in the OOF part but not a problem...
Congratulations and TFS.

This is a great capture Teunie. It is an attention getting pose. Nice composition/close crop. On my monitor the image appears a little oversharpened and therefore a little harsh and contrasty. I played with it in a workshop. You will probably think it is too soft. Otters have nice soft fur and the original looks a little prickly to me.

Hello Teunie,
this is a great portrait shot from the Otter. I like it very much. Great POV, DOF, framing and sharpness. This is a great composition. Thank you for posting. I wish you and your husband a Happy New Year, Good Luck and Health.
Groetjes
Heinz

Hello Teunie.
What a strong capture you have done here!
It is a very impressing shout, showing the powerful canines of this beautiful animal.
Good quality too, thanks and of course my best wishes for 2007 to you too :)
Regards, Felipe.

Hi Teunie,
A nice shot, I love watching these animals, they have a real sense of fun :-) Nice detail and good colours, good DOF too. A little noise but nothing that neatimage couldn't fix. More nice work from you!
Best regards, hi to Jaap
Adrian

Hello Teunie! This little guy looks to be quite bothered--hope there was a cage between the two of you! Great closeup, nicely framed! Glad you captured his little webbed foot as well. Very interesting note. Very good action shot, and look at all those whiskers! Well done! Thank you, Linda